*After a lot of thought, it seems to me that casual restaurants tend to be shortchanged by being ranked on the same scale as fine-dining restaurants. It would be unfair to them, to compare them against a brigade of chefs and staff, dedicated to crafting the edible works of art.

Therefore I have decided to rank casual restaurants on a different scale from formal restaurants. They will be ranked out of 5, and the details can be found here: (https://kennethtiongeats.wordpress.com/ratings/). This will be my first casual place review, using the new ranking system.

TAPAS 24 in Barcelona is often crowded with tourists, especially after the hours of 7.30pm (it features in Japanese guidebooks), and is considered one of the city’s better tapas restaurants (along with El Quim de Boqueria, and Cal Pep). I was recommended this place by at least two people who’ve lived in Barcelona, independently of each other. It is conveniently located on the Passeig de Gracia, near the two Gaudi attractions in the center of town. We ordered the following:

The best dish we tried here. Crisp, the legs were easily edible and crunched off like so many salty crisps. The heads were delectable. I would go on to have great prawns at Etxebarri, 41 Degrees, and ABaC, but these were fantastic, no frills.

7. Sonsos (4/5)

8. A rice stew with artichokes, sea-bass and rice. (3.25/5)

This had alright flavor, if a bit salty. But the serving was meagre, and the seabass texture could barely be discerned.